Short Wins – It’s a Relatively Good Week For The Constitution

It’s a good week in the federal circuits for folks accused of a crime.

Instead of the all-too-common diet of sentencing remands, there are some nice wins on our rights against unreasonable searches and seizures and against uncounseled statements to law enforcement. Well done appellate counsel!

And, what week would be complete without an opinion on restitution in child pornography cases.

To the Victories!

1. United States v. Black, Fourth Circuit: Appellant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm after his motion to suppress the firearm was denied. Because the officers who stopped him lacked reasonable suspicion to believe he was engaged in a crime, the stop violated the Fourth Amendment, and the firearm should have been suppressed as fruit of the unlawful search. For these reasons, the district court’s ruling on the motion was reversed and appellant’s conviction and sentence were vacated.

2. United States v. Gamble, Sixth Circuit: Appellants were convicted of two unrelated child pornography offenses and ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to “Vicky,” one of the people depicted in the images. Because the courts did not require a showing of proximate cause between Vicky’s losses and the appellants’ offenses, remand for that analysis was required. Furthermore, on remand, the lower courts must reconsider the extent to which appellants must pay restitution where they share responsibility for Vicky’s injuries with hundreds of other child pornography viewers.

3. United States v. Ramirez, First Circuit: Appellant pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Because the record was unclear as to whether the court applied an enhancement for knowingly or intentionally using a minor person when committing the offenses, remand was required to resolve this question.

4. United States v. Hunter, Seventh Circuit: The district court properly granted appellant’s motion to suppress statements he made to police after asking for his attorney. Because appellant unambiguously and unequivocally invoked his right to counsel, the officers should have stopped questioning him. As a result, the statements appellant made after asking for his attorney were properly suppressed.

5. United States v. Bell, D.C. Circuit: Appellant was convicted of conspiring to possess and distribute PCP. He argued that his lawyer was ineffective because the lawyer didn’t tell him that he could have received a lower sentence under the “safety valve” provision of the Guidelines. Appellant also said his lawyer was ineffective because the lawyer didn’t request a continuance at the sentencing hearing when it became apparent that appellant didn’t about the safety valve. Because the record suggested a serious possibility that the lawyer was ineffective and that this ineffectiveness prejudiced appellant, remand was proper to resolve this uncertainty.

6. United States v. Moore, Fourth Circuit: Appellant was convicted of carjacking, using a firearm in the carjacking, and conspiracy. Because the district court erred in denying appellant’s motion for a new trial, which was based in part on newly discovered evidence that a picture of a potential suspect in the underlying offenses was mislabeled, his conviction was vacated and the case remanded for a new trial.